The H-R diagram is a scatter graph of stars, a plot of stellar absolute magnitude or luminosity versus temperature or stellar classification. It is an important astronomical tool for understanding how stars evolve over time. Stellar evolution cannot...(View More) be studied by observing individual stars as most changes occur over millions and billions of years. Astrophysicists observe numerous stars at various stages in their evolutionary history to determine their changing properties and probable evolutionary tracks across the H-R diagram. In this activity, students plot both maxima and minima with corresponding stellar classifications for several variables, and then identify the type of variability: Cepheid, RR Lyrae, Mira or Semiregular. This activity includes background information, a teacher guide, a student activity, and accompanying worksheets. The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) and The Chandra X-Ray mission have collaborated to develop this activity.(View Less)

This is an annotated, topical list of science fiction novels and stories based on more or less accurate astronomy and physics ideas. Learners can read fictional works that involve asteroids, astronomers, black holes, comets, space travel where...(View More) Einstein's ideas are used correctly, exploding stars, etc.(View Less)

The 9-session NASA Family Science Night program invites middle school children and their families to discover the wide variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics being performed at NASA and in everyday life. Family Science Night...(View More) programs explore various themes on the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and the Universe through fun, hands-on activities, including at-home experiments. Information about Family Science Night implementation and support resources, including the facilitator's guide, are available by registering on the Family Science Night Facilitators website (see Related & Supplemental Resources for link).(View Less)

This book presents 49 space-related math problems published weekly on the SpaceMath@NASA site during the 2011-2012 academic year. The problems utilize information, imagery, and data from various NASA spacecraft missions that span a variety of math...(View More) skills in pre-algebra and algebra.(View Less)

The Maryland Science Center is working with formal education providers in local underserved schools around a combined project including an interactive exhibit, a Davis Planetarium program and associated Educator Workshops, and will provide outreach...(View More) to the informal science education community to explore the subject of Astrobiology. Topics covered in both the exhibit and the Davis Planetarium program will include Earthly extremophiles (organisms that survive in extreme conditions), potential other life in the Solar System, locations on nearby worlds where life may exist, the search for exoplanets, the techniques used to discover them, and the NASA missions engaged in the hunt. With an engaging, interactive approach, the exhibit will detail the challenges, questions and techniques of the search for exoplanets, especially Earth-like worlds. The exhibit will help visitors understand the scale of both the Milky Way galaxy and the Universe, and by doing so comprehend the difficulty in searching for other worlds, especially smaller Earth-like worlds.(View Less)

In this hands-on activity, students learn about the different realms of the Universe and explore their sizes and relative scales. They will be guided through a process that uncovers the immense sizes of the Sun, Solar System, Solar Neighborhood,...(View More) Milky Way, Local Group, Supercluster, and the observable Universe. The full version of this activity involves students doing simple math computations, however it can also be done without the math. There are some inexpensive materials involved, as well as a powerpoint presentation. It is intended for grades 8-12, but can be adapted down for lower grade levels.(View Less)

In this activity, students use multiwavelength images of stars in different stages of evolution to investigate how the initial masses of the protostars determines their evolutionary paths. Images include stellar nurseries, protostars, supernova...(View More) remnants, planetary nebulae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars and black holes. The activity includes a teacher guide with background information, a card set of 24 images, student task description and worksheets, online tutorials, and a Web quest version. Suggestions for using the activity in the classroom as well as related URLs are included in the Web-based teacher guide.(View Less)

Students will learn about black holes through reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video segment. Then students will use tables and mathematical expressions to compare black hole sizes and temperatures. Common Core State Standards...(View More) for Mathematics and English Language Arts are identified. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.(View Less)

Students use simple proportions and fractions to explore the number of stars in the Milky Way, and the relative sizes of some famous stars compared to our own Sun. By reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video segment, students...(View More) will learn more about stars and the Milky Way galaxy. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Art are identified. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.(View Less)

Students will learn about NASA's Fermi satellite and gamma ray sources through reading a NASA press release. They will also learn about gamma rays and the electromagnetic spectrum by viewing a NASA eClips video segment. Then, students will use...(View More) percentages to explore the origins of mysterious gamma ray sources in the sky using NASA Fermi data. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Art are identified. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.(View Less)